A puma celebrated in the Los Angeles community and who helped inspire an urban wildlife project was euthanized on Saturday (17).
Known as P-22, the animal was euthanized due to health issues that included kidney failure, heart disease, chronic weight loss and a parasitic skin infection, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Saturday.
The male jaguar was hit by a car this month and seriously injured. She had avoided cars for a decade, including when crossing a ten-lane highway.
Authorities captured her on Monday (12), when she appeared to be agitated and attacked two dogs, killing one of them.
“P-22’s advanced age, coupled with his chronic debilitating conditions and the need for extensive and long-term veterinary intervention, excluded the possibility of a positive result,” the department said.
At an estimated age of 12 years, the jaguar was considered elderly for its breed, wildlife experts said. P-22 was likely born on the western side of the Santa Monica Mountains, but has spent most of her life in Griffith Park and has amassed a following on social media, including over 10,000 on Instagram.
Griffiths Park is the largest municipal urban wilderness park in the United States, but it was small for an animal like P-22, even though he lived there. Recently the park held a celebration to commemorate the ten years since P-22 was found. He was the 22nd cougar in a study to receive a tracking collar.
Brenda Rees, who serves on the executive board of Friends of Griffith Park, said P-22 was one of the animals that inspired the construction of an animal bridge over Highway 101.
After capturing P-22, she said: “What happened reinforces the need for connectivity in Southern California. You need animals to be able to move from one area to another and not feel trapped in a restricted area like P-22. -22 was in Griffith Park”.
The project aims to give large animals, such as puma, the freedom to move around without having to interact with the urban space that surrounds them.
“The survival of a P-22 on a forested island in the heart of Los Angeles has fascinated people around the world and revitalized efforts to protect our diverse native species and our ecosystems,” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement.
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